The demand for engineers in Australia is on the rise to match a spike in the civil construction market, according to a new report.
The latest statistics come from Hays’ July to September Quarterly report, which claims there is steady growth in the sector.
“Australia’s engineering industry is very active with continued staffing demand and vacancy activity – although levels of activity do vary based on location,” the Hays report stated.
“In NSW the market remains strong. The civil market is expected to strengthen with significant state government investment in roads and rail including the Sydney Metro, Sydney Light Rail and the Parramatta Light Rail.”
In the ACT, the $700 million light rail project and a strong civil market with a number of subdivisions, land releases and road duplications is fuelling vacancy activity, it also explained.
Meanwhile, Victoria remains busy with “subdivisions in Melbourne’s Northwest and Southeast” and civil works include rail upgrades and the Melbourne Metro project.
“Demand for Roads, Highways and Rail Engineers is putting upward pressure on salaries, causing local movement and attracting interstate candidates,” Hay said.
“Moving on to Queensland, in Brisbane the market is experiencing slow and steady growth. The $3 billion Queens Wharf Development, highway upgrades including Kingsford Smith Drive, and many small lot subdivisions are driving the market.”
Many of Brisbane’s major projects are halfway through their lifecycle, however, and therefore future activity is uncertain.
Activity on the Gold Coast is driven by the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which is due to take place next April, and includes the construction and restoration of both new and old sporting venues.
Along with the sport and community facilities, residential developments for townhouses and apartments to accommodate athletes and sporting officials are also boosting the engineering market, the report explained.
“Northern Queensland’s civil construction market has improved due to investment in mining infrastructure, roads and bulk earthworks,” Hays said.
“In Western Australia, civil construction is buoyant especially in Perth due to highway extensions and the airport link.
“In Adelaide, significant infrastructure spend and major projects including road upgrades will boost the civil market over the next few years.
“In the Northern Territory, infrastructure investment is driving the market.
“In Tasmania civil investment in roads infrastructure and major construction projects and are creating vacancy activity.”
Areas of demand
- Civil Engineers with infrastructure experience are in growing demand in response to the increase in such projects. With more specialised projects moving into design, demand for this experience is increasing.
- Structural Engineers are also sought, particularly those with strong experience who can face clients.
- A major area of demand is for candidates with expertise in specialist software packages. 12D Design Drafters are the most sought after. As the demand for 3D modelling increases, there is also a shortage of suitable candidates with Revit and Civil 3D as well as 12D. Such skills are in demand for residential and industrial developments and subdivisions in particular. In fact, there is a clear need for these modelling skills nationally since many designers tend to focus on roads and infrastructure.
- Hydraulic Engineers at the mid-level within building services are also in demand. The lack of a hydraulics degree means there is no influx of graduates entering the industry like we see in other areas, such as mechanical. Most good Hydraulic Engineers are former tradespeople.
- Building Services and Structural Engineers with business development skillsare also in demand. Employers want jobseekers who are confident and can visit clients to win business.
- There’s also demand for skilled Engineers from a consulting background who can work autonomously since there are too many senior engineers who can’t operate unsupervised.